Long Term Review - Hyundai Elantra CRDi - 4.5 years @ <30,000km

This is a discussion on Long Term Review - Hyundai Elantra CRDi - 4.5 years @ <30,000km within Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; I bought a Hyundai Elantra in Aug 2006 after a lot of deliberation on Team BHP.
I was impressed with ...

I bought a Hyundai Elantra in Aug 2006 after a lot of deliberation on Team BHP.

I was impressed with the CRDI Elantra especially because of the performance and reasonable cost of maintenance of Hyundais when compared to other cars of similar size.

I did not like the looks but it grew on me as time passed.

After 4.5 years, I have covered just 30500 kms primarily because I kept travelling overseas and also because I did not want to travel later.

What I liked about the car
- well built
- reasonably good quality
- excellent mileage
- good power delivery after turbo lag

What I did not like
- bad steering, very innacurate
- initial quality was poor and I had a host of issues
- tyre alignment keeps going off wearing off the tyres in an uneven manner

Some issues in the earlier stages
- Water leak from glass windshield - this came from the company showroom and it completely spoilt the interiors. The Hyundai service centre did a shabby job leaving the interiors looking like a used car's interiors.

It took 8 trips to the service station to get it fixed which was done only after replacing the wind shield

- clutch plate failed once (replaced free under warranty)

- break drum failed while driving - this was shocking but the company paid for 50% of this cost + free labour..outside of warranty

- the mud flap fell off within weeks of the cars delivery..so did the door visors which flew off while driving...were fixed very, very poorly.

The negatives
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The car is running just fine..alignment is off for some weird reason and most tyres have worn off because of this.

There are no rattles but the drive has become very unstable leaving me with little confidence on the highway.

This is primarily due to the hardened suspension which drives into the bumps badly (the car misbehaves in big potholes), the steering is very inaccurate

There is some body roll ..is probably there due to the suspension?

The positives ...
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The car still feels sold, ,the engine performs well, AC cools well even in hot Chennai summer and the mileage is also still great.

Advice needed...
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How can I make the steering more precise?
How can I make the suspension more better (like a laura) for eg.
Would it be good to sell it off worrying about issues in near future and invest in a cruze or something or should I hold on to this (30k km in 4.5 years)..

azifali, The Elantra came with a decent suspension with a very composed ride quality. I just sold my 2006 Elantra, i never ever faced stability issues at all. The Handling though not as involving as the Europeans but the grip was at par with them. Please get your car checked at an authorised service center.

You won't believe the overall ride quality was slightly more level than even the Laura, though it was stiffer and not as absorbent.

When I drive the car into a pothole, it feels like it moved a few inches sideways or it dives into the hole almost loosing control for a split second before it regains its poise

There is a body roll when it falls even in small road cracks as the suspension is not evenly settling in..including on a bumper unless I move really slowly

I get the feeling that the car is getting battered with some noise being produced when driving through potholes..is it me or is it chennai's roads?..

I have been using Kun but they seem to be ripping off without actually doing a quality job...

Planning to go to HMP shortly.

@condor - looks to me like uneven wear..

Here are some pics..though they are more than one year old (the car at 3 year old)..:-) yes it does look good because I have got it repainted for all small scratches again and again..and kept using polish and a paint detailer ..

I did not know what was team bhp policy but I had the number plates removed through a minor edit..

That was nice review and synopsis about your Elantra. Your car looks so new and fresh, bumpy ride is due to uneven wear of tires, once you change your tires it should ride well as before. Elantra CRDI is a wonderful car, Hyundai stopped production fearing it would dent Verna sale
Do post the feedback of dealer under Indian dealership section so that it would help other Chennai Hyundai owners.

O.T. My Santro was serviced in Kun from the first service and as far the service is concerned it was absolutely fine. It was actually better than Lanson Toyota

Hello azifali. That is a well maintained elantra. +1 to condor. If you are thinking of selling your car, the recipient will be one lucky guy. Try to rectify your problems. Changing from stock tires to better ones may help you a lot, regarding your car's stability and all. These days, there is always a solution for everything.

It is the "crappy" MRF I think :-).. I guess I will try replacing them with Michelin (?) or any other better tyres for now and see the stability..

Let me also go back to KUN for the service and see how they fare ..

Yes - the car is reasonably well maintained...except for few scratches and very minor dents caused by people who do not know how to reverse the car.. :-)

You can try the Ignite Garage in ECR. They do a very good job compared to the ***. I normally give my vehicle to Raghav for any service on my visits to Chennai.
I recently gave my Elantra to 'Express Hyundai' for just oil change and wheel rotation & balancing. They have kind of made as mess of that alignment part. I have put on Conti CPC-2 shoes for my ride and before this alignment even at speeds of 160+ there won't be any wobble but after the rotation, the car has started to wobble heavily even at 120.
Didn't find time to take the car to Madhu's in Bangalore (from where i got the tyres and they do a superior wheel alignment and balancing act with latest instruments to help).
If you have not changed your MRF shoes yet, consider Conti CPC-2 as well. I believe it is better than Michelin Energy/PPS2.